Jack the Stripper
June 17, 1959 - February 16 1965 |capture = |status = Unknown}} Jack the Stripper, a.k.a. The Hammersmith Nude Murderer, is a still-unidentified serial killer, abductor, and copycat who was active in London, England from 1964 to 1965. As the murders abruptly stopped many people assumed the killer to have moved away, died, or was caught for an unrelated crime. The case is still unsolved and the killer has never been caught or identified. Case History Chief Superintendent John Du Rose of Scotland Yard, the detective put in charge of the case, interviewed almost 7,000 suspects. In the spring of 1965, the investigation into the murders encountered a major breakthrough when a sample of paint which perfectly matched that recovered from several victims' bodies was found beneath a concealed transformer at the rear of a building on the Heron Factory Estate in Acton. This factory estate faced a paint spraying shop. Shortly thereafter, Du Rose held a news conference in which he falsely announced that the police had narrowed the suspect pool down to 20 men and that, by a process of elimination, these suspects were being eliminated from the investigation. After a short time, he announced that the suspect pool contained only 10 members, and then three. There were no further known Stripper killings following the initial news conference. Hannah Tailford and Frances Brown, the Stripper's third and seventh victims, were peripherally connected to the 1963 Profumo Affair. Some victims were also known to engage in the underground party scene in addition to appearing in pornographic movies. Several writers have postulated that the victims may have known each other, and that the killer may have been connected to this scene as well. In the investigation of Frances Brown's murder, a fellow prostitute had stated that she last saw Frances Brown getting into a client's car on the 23rd October 1964; a month before her body was found. Brown's colleague was able to provide police with identikit picture of the client that Brown was last seen with and had described the client's car as a grey Ford Zephyr. Modus Operandi Jack the Stripper would travel around Hammersmith in search of victims, preferably caucasian prostitutes with dark hair. He would then abduct them, take them to a remote location where for two or three days it was suspected that the killer tortured the victims. He would then proceed to strangle, undress and dump them hence his most recent nickname. Known Victims Confirmed *1964: **February 2: Hannah Tailford **April 8: Irene Lockwood **April 24: Helen Barthelemy **July 14: Mary Fleming **October 23: Frances Brown *February 16, 1965: Bridget O'Hara Possible *June 17, 1959: Elizabeth Figg *November 8, 1963: Gwynneth Rees Suspects *Freddie Mills (1919-1965) **Former British light heavyweight boxing champion. **Suspected sexual sadist. **Allegedly confessed to the murders in private. **Committed suicide right after the killings ended. **Many famous figures in London's underworld suspected Mills of being the killer. *Unnamed Metropolitan Police Officer *Tommy Butler **Detective Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police. **Was the head of Metropolitan Police Flying Squad. **Lead the investigation into the Great Train Robbery and the hunt for gang responsible for the robbery. **Was named by authors; Jimmy Evans and Martin Short in the 2002 book; "The Survivor". *Harold Jones **Killed two young girls in a similar manner to the Stripper when he was 15. **Released from prison in 1941 and joined the Royal Marine Commandos. **Lived in London during the time of the murders. *Mungo Ireland **Chief suspect for Inspector John Du Rose. **Known as Big John. **Worked as a security guard on the Heron Trading Estate where industrial paint matched the paint flecks on Bridget O'Hara's body. **Committed suicide by carbon monoxide poison after being connected to O'Hara's murder. **Was dismissed after evidence placed the suspect in Scotland at the time of O'Hara's murder. *Kenneth Archibald **Worked as a caretaker at Holland Park Lawn Tennis Club. **Was charged with Irene Lockwood's murder but later acquitted at trial. Profile The police suspected the perpetrator of the Stripper killings to be a misogynist, he would have hated women due to a previous bad experience with one. Profilers had thought his mother may have committed suicide which could have prompted his father to leave him too. His method of stripping the victims of their clothes is his attempt at reducing them to trash. He would have been in his late twenties to early thirties during the 1964-1965 assaults. He would have knowledge of police investigative methods and evidence gathering techniques and may have Armed Services/Law Enforcement experience. He might have a history of psychiatric care and attempted treatment of antisocial personality disorder. The killer might have a criminal record that was expunged, it would have been for small crimes such as burglary, animal cruelty and vandalism. He would have a history of violence against women and may be married albeit unlikely. On Criminal Minds *Season Three **"In Name and Blood" - While Jack the Stripper has yet to be directly mentioned or referenced on the show, he appears to have been an inspiration for the episode's unsub. Joe Smith - Both were misogynistic (presumably in the Stripper's case) serial killers and abductors who targeted Caucasian women and dumped them near bins like trash after killing them. Category:Unsolved Cases Category:Real Serial Killers Category:Real World Criminals Category:Real Life Killers Category:Real Abductors Category:Real People Category:Unreferenced Criminals Category:Real Foreign Criminals Category:Real Life Psychopaths Category:Real Life Sociopaths Category:Real Life Sadists Category:Real Copycats